Flexibits Chatology

Apple’s Messages app held a lot of promise when it was announced, and for the most part, it works. In addition to being able to instant message, you can text your friends through iMessage. A lot of the bugginess has been worked out since the app first launched, but there’s still a major problem: searching through your chat logs. Try typing in a search term, and your Mac will likely freeze up altogether. That’s where Flexibits Chatology ($20) comes in. It works in conjunction with Messages, allowing you to actually search.

When you install Chatology, it’ll scan your message logs. Once it has, you can search text and images, just like you’d want from Apple’s native app. Results come up quickly and consistently, without bogging down your machine. If you want, you can set it so that pressing ⌘F in Messages opens Chatology right up. A 14-day free trial is available if you want to check it out before committing the cash to it.